Cream of Red Pepper Soup

Description: For roasting peppers, you can follow the oven method (see Peasant'sHearth's Recipe #137169) or stovetop method (see Julesong's Recipe #51522) or substitute commercial bottled roasted peppers (though some of the flavor is lost with the bottled kind). For a lighter version, use half-and-half. Preparation time does NOT include the time for roasting the peppers.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon crushed fresh rosemary leaf
• 4 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 1/4 quarts vegetable stock
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• sweet paprika
• salt and pepper

Steps:

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan and saute onion and rosemary 5 min over low heat, stirring often.
2. Add peppers and stock, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Stir in tomato paste; place in food processor or blender; puree.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup cream and paprika, salt and pepper.
5. Ladle into 4 soup bowls and swirl 1 Tbs of cream onto the surface of each; sprinkle cream lightly with paprika for a speckled effect.